Location-based communications

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method includes generating a communication to be sent from a sender to a recipient who are related to one another by blood or employment; and scheduling delivery of the communication to the recipient based on a future location of the recipient. The content of the communication and the future location of the recipient are determined from an analysis of electronically-accessible resources by or about the sender, the recipient, or both.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part application of and claimspriority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/489,210, filed Jun. 5,2012, and to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/650,941, filed Oct. 12,2012, the entire contents of both which are incorporated here byreference.

BACKGROUND

This description relates to location-based communications from a senderto a recipient.

A typical user of a social networking website communicates with otherusers of the social networking website by posting information abouthimself or information of interest to other users of the social networkwebsite in a manner that is accessible to the other users. For example,a user of a social networking website might post background informationabout himself, such as current job or activity information: informationabout events attended, such as concerts; events the user plans toattend, such as travel vacation sites; or personal events, such asbirthdays or anniversaries. A user may also post information aboutrecent acquisitions, such as the purchase of a new automobile orsmartphone. Other users who have access to the user's posted informationmay contact the user to comment or review information about commonshared interests or for other reasons.

Some social networking websites filter or group connections based on,e.g., friendship, profession or job type, or geographical location.Social networks often span users within a single generation (e.g.,Generation X or Generation Y) or at least within a limited agedemographic.

SUMMARY

In a general aspect, a computer-implemented method includes generating acommunication to be sent from a sender to a recipient who are related toone another by blood or employment; and scheduling delivery of thecommunication to the recipient based on a future location of therecipient. The content of the communication and the future location ofthe recipient are determined from an analysis ofelectronically-accessible resources by or about the sender, therecipient, or both.

Embodiments may include one or more of the following.

The method includes sending the communication to the recipient when therecipient is at or near the future location.

The method includes sending the communication to a mobile computingdevice associated with the recipient.

The method includes detecting a location of the recipient. In somecases, detecting a location of the recipient includes detecting GPScoordinates of a computing device associated with the recipient. In somecases, the method includes sending the communication to the recipientwhen the location of the recipient matches the future location.

Scheduling delivery includes scheduling delivery of the communication tothe recipient at a specified future time. In some cases, the methodincludes sending the communication to the recipient when the recipientis at or near the future location at the specified future time. In somecases, the method includes receiving time criteria for determining thespecified future time; and determining the future time based on the timecriteria.

The method includes receiving location criteria for determining thefuture location; and wherein the future location is determined based onthe location criteria. In some cases, the location criteria include atleast one of a characteristic of the future location, a characteristicof the sender, and a characteristic of the recipient.

Generating the communication includes generating a draft communicationincluding at least some of the determined content; providing the draftcommunication to the sender; and receiving the communication from thesender.

Generating the communication includes generating the communicationincluding at least some of the determined content.

The method includes conducting an automated analysis of theelectronically-accessible resources to determine the content of thecommunication and the future location.

The communication includes a multimedia message.

The electronically-accessible resources include at least one of (a)electronically-accessible or mobile social networking facilities, (b)electronically-accessible or mobile periodicals, and (c) websites.

The electronically-accessible resources include a database storing datarelevant to the sender, the recipient, or both.

In a general aspect, a computer-implemented method includes generating acommunication to be sent from a sender to a recipient; and schedulingdelivery of the communication to the recipient at a specified futuretime based on a future location of the recipient. The identity of therecipient, the content of the communication, the future time, and thefuture location of the recipient are determined from an analysis ofelectronically-accessible resources by or about the sender or therecipient.

Embodiments may include one or more of the following.

The method includes sending the communication to the recipient when therecipient is at or near the future location at the specified futuretime.

The method includes sending the communication to a mobile computingdevice associated with the recipient.

The method includes detecting a location of the recipient. In somecases, detecting a location of the recipient includes detecting GPScoordinates of a computing device associated with the recipient. In somecases, the method includes the communication to the recipient when thelocation of the recipient matches the future location.

The method includes receiving location criteria for determining thefuture location; and wherein the future location is determined based onthe location criteria. In some cases, the location criteria include atleast one of a characteristic of the future location, a characteristicof the sender, and a characteristic of the recipient.

The method includes receiving recipient criteria for determining theidentity of the recipient; and wherein the identity of the recipient isdetermined based on the recipient criteria. In some cases, the recipientcriteria include a relationship between the sender and the recipient,such as a future relationship between the sender and the recipient. Insome cases, the recipient criteria include a characteristic of therecipient.

The method includes receiving time criteria for determining thespecified future time; and wherein the specified future time isdetermined based on the time criteria.

Generating the communication includes generating a draft communicationincluding at least some of the determined content; providing the draftcommunication to the sender; and receiving the communication from thesender.

Generating the communication includes generating the communicationincluding at least some of the determined content.

The method includes conducting an automated analysis of theelectronically-accessible resources to determine the content of thecommunication and the future location.

The communication includes a multimedia message.

The electronically-accessible resources include at least one of (a)electronically-accessible or mobile social networking facilities, (b)electronically-accessible or mobile periodicals, and (c) websites.

The electronically-accessible resources include a database storing datarelevant to the sender, the recipient, or both.

In a general aspect, a computer-implemented method includes generating acommunication to be sent from an employer to an employee; and schedulingdelivery of the communication to the employee based on a future locationof the employee. The content of the communication and the futurelocation of the employee are determined from an analysis ofelectronically-accessible resources by or about the employee.

Embodiments may include one or more of the following.

The method includes sending the communication to the employee when theemployee is at or near the future location.

The method includes sending the communication to a mobile computingdevice associated with the employee.

The method includes detecting a location of the employee. In some cases,the method includes sending the communication to the employee when thelocation of the employee matches the future location.

Scheduling delivery includes scheduling delivery of the communication tothe employee at a specified future time. In some cases, the methodincludes sending the communication to the employee when the employee isat or near the future location at the specified future time. In somecases, the method includes receiving time criteria for determining thespecified future time; and determining the future time based on the timecriteria.

The method includes receiving location criteria for determining thefuture location; and wherein the future location is determined based onthe location criteria. In some cases, the location criteria include atleast one of a characteristic of the future location, a characteristicof the employer, and a characteristic of the employee.

Generating the communication includes generating a draft communicationincluding at least some of the determined content; providing the draftcommunication to the employer or an agent for the employer; andreceiving the communication from the employer or the agent for theemployer.

Generating the communication includes generating the communicationincluding at least some of the determined content.

The method includes conducting an automated analysis of theelectronically-accessible resources to determine the content of thecommunication and the future location.

The electronically-accessible resources include at least one of (a)electronically-accessible or mobile social networking facilities, (b)electronically-accessible or mobile periodicals, and (c) websites.

The electronically-accessible resources include a database storing datarelevant to the employer, the employee, or both.

These and other aspects, features, implementations, and advantages, andcombinations of them, can be expressed as methods, apparatus, systems,components, program products, business methods, and means or steps forperforming functions, or combinations of them.

Other features, aspects, implementations, and advantages will becomeapparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.

DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system for sending acommunication.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart.

FIG. 3 is a view of a recipient user interface.

FIG. 4 is a view of a sender user interface.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example analytics module.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example communications module.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example location module.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example storage module.

FIGS. 9-12 are flow charts.

The system that we describe here enables a communication to be sent fromone party (sometimes called a sender) to one or more other parties(sometimes called recipients) based on a location of the recipient at afuture time. In some examples, the communication is to be sent when therecipient is at a previously identified location (which we sometimescall a triggering location). For instance, a welcome message may be sentto travelers when they arrive at an airport. In some examples, thecommunication is to be sent when the recipient is at a triggeringlocation at a previously identified time (which we sometimes call atriggering time). For instance, a coupon for use at a coffee shop may besent to one or more potential customers who are within a certaindistance of the coffee shop in the morning.

In some examples, the system described here automatically identifies theone or more recipients of the communication, the triggering location, orthe triggering time, or a combination of any two or more of them. Insome examples, the sender identifies the one or more recipients of thecommunication, the triggering location, or the triggering time, or acombination of any two or more of them.

The communication to the recipient may be generated by the system, thesender, or both. The system described here conducts an automatedanalysis of sources of information, such as websites, publications,social networks, or other electronically-accessible sources, or acombination of any two or more of them, to identify content for thecommunication that is to be sent to the recipient. The system mayautomatically generate the communication using some or all of theidentified content. The system may also provide the identified contentto the sender, who may then choose to include some or all of theidentified content in the communication. We use the term“electronically-accessible” broadly to include, for example, accessiblethrough a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), theInternet, a mobile phone network, or by any other method or combinationof methods.

Referring to FIG. 1, a system 100 enables a communication 102 to be sentfrom a sender 104 to a recipient 106 when the recipient 106 is at ornear a triggering location 108. The communication 102 may be amultimedia message (e.g., a message that includes voice, text, images,or video, or any combination of two or more of them) that is sent over anetwork 110, such as the Internet, to a computing device 112 associatedwith the recipient 106. The computing device 112 may be a personalcomputer, a mobile computing device such as a smartphone or a tablet, oranother type of computing device.

A communication system 114, hosted on a server 116, facilitates thesending of the communication 102 to the recipient 106. In some examples,a registration module 118 in the communication system 114 registers aperson as a potential recipient. For instance, the registration module118 may collect personal information 120, such as name, phone number,e-mail address, social networking information, or communicationpreferences, or a combination of any two or more of these. Theregistration module 118 may also collect device information 122 aboutthe computing device 112 through which the person's location is to betracked. The personal information 120 and device information 122 arestored in a recipient database 124. In some examples, a person mayregister directly with the communication system 114, e.g., through arecipient interface 125. In some examples, a person is registeredautomatically with the communication system 114, e.g., when he enrollsin a social network 126 or other electronically-accessible service orwhen he joins a particular group in a social network. In some examples,a person is registered with the communication system 114 by anotherparty. For instance, a human resources officer of a corporation mayregister all employees of the corporation with the communication system114.

In some examples, the sender 104 and the recipient 106 are relatedthrough a relationship, such as a family relationship, an employmentrelationship, or another type of relationship, or a combination of anytwo or more of them. For instance, in an example of a familyrelationship, the sender 104 may be a grandfather who wants to send amessage to his as-yet-unborn grandchild (the recipient 106) at a futuretime. In an example of an employment relationship, the sender 104 may bethe human resources department of a corporation and the recipients 106are employees of the corporation. In some examples, the sender 104 andthe recipient 106 have no particular relationship. For instance, thesender 104 may be an advertiser sending a marketing offer or a coupon toone or more potential customers, who are the recipients 106.

The sender 104 (or an agent for the sender 104) provides instructions128 for the sending of the communication 108 to the communication system114 by accessing a sender interface 130 using a computing device 118,such as a personal computer or a mobile computing device or other typeof computing device. For instance, the sender 104 may specify therecipient 106, provide one or more recipient criteria to be used by thecommunication system 114 to identify the recipient 106, specify thetriggering location 108, provide one or more location criteria to beused by the communication system 114 to identify the recipient, specifythe triggering time, or provide one or more time criteria to be used bythe communication system 114 to identify the triggering time, or acombination of any two or more of them.

If the sender provided one or more of recipient criteria, triggeringcriteria, and triggering criteria, an analytics module 131 uses theprovided criteria to identify the recipient 106, the triggering location108, and the triggering time, respectively. The analytics module may usedata stored in the recipient database 124 to identify one or more of therecipient 106, the triggering location 108, or the triggering time. Theanalytics module 130 may access data sources 132, such as websites 133,electronically-accessible publications 135, social networks 126,electronically-accessible databases 127, or otherelectronically-accessible sources, or a combination of two or more ofthem, to identify one or more of the recipient 106, the triggeringlocation 108, or the triggering time.

The identity of the recipient 106 and the associated triggering location108, the triggering time, or a combination of two or more of them, asspecified by the sender 104 or as identified by the analytics module131, are stored in a triggering database 132.

A communication module 134 facilitates the preparation of thecommunication 102 that is to be sent to the recipient 106. In someexamples, the communication module 134 identifies information that maybe about or of interest to the sender 104, the recipient 106, or both,and automatically generates the communication 102 based on thatinformation. For instance, the communication module 134 aided by theanalytics module 131 may identify news articles, photographs, multimediafiles, coupons or special offers, or other information, or a combinationof any two or more of them, that are about or of interest to the sender104, the recipient 106, or both. The automatically generatedcommunication 102 may be approved by the sender 102. In some examples,the communication module 134 generates a draft or template of acommunication to be edited or completed by the sender 104. For instance,a draft communication may include some of the information identified bythe communication module 134 and may further include space for thesender to compose a message, insert a photograph, or otherwisesupplement or edit the communication. In some examples, the sender 104prepares the communication 102 with no assistance from the communicationmodule 134.

In some examples, a communication 102 is prepared specifically for aparticular recipient 106 (e.g., the grandfather sending a message to hisgrandchild). In some examples, a communication 102 is prepared formultiple recipients (e.g., a coupon sent to many prospective customers).

The communication is stored in a communication database 142 of a storagemodule 140. In some examples, the information about or of interest tothe sender 104, the recipient 106, or both that is identified by thecommunication module 134 is also stored in the communication database142. In the illustrated example, the storage module is separate from thecommunication system 114; in some examples, the storage module 140 maybe co-located in the same physical location with the communicationsystem.

In some examples, a physical item 138, such as a gift or a memento, maybe sent to the recipient 106 along with the communication 102. Thephysical item 138 may be stored in a physical storage, such as awarehouse, associated with the storage module 140, until it is to besent to the recipient 106. The physical item 138 may also be orderedfrom a vendor 144 and sent directly to the recipient 106. In someexamples, the communication 102 may include a coupon or voucher forservices (e.g., a massage or a car wash) to be provided by a vendor 144.

For each recipient 106 stored in the triggering database 132, a locationmodule 136 monitors the location of the computing device 112 associatedwith the recipient 106 (i.e., as a proxy for the location of therecipient 106). For instance, the location module 136 may monitor theGPS coordinates of the computing device 112, the proximity of thecomputing device to a WiFi hotspot, or another location-based signal.The location module 136 may monitor the location of the computing device112 continuously or regular intervals, such as every 5 minutes, everyhour, or every day. In some examples, the monitoring interval may bedependent on the nature of the triggering location 108. For instance, ifthe triggering location is a city or country, the location module 136may monitor the location of the computing device 112 less frequentlythan if the triggering location is a street address or a store.

When the location module 136 detects that the recipient 106 is at ornear the triggering location 108 (e.g., within a particular distance ofthe triggering location), the location module 136 alerts thecommunication module 134, the sender 104, or both. In some examples, thecommunication module 134 automatically sends the communication 102 tothe recipient 106. In some examples, the sender 104 instructs thecommunication module 134 to send the communication 102 to the recipient106.

In some examples, the sender 104 and the recipient 106 may be the sameperson. For example, the sender 104 may request to be reminded of aplanned trip, event, or visit in the future. For instance, the sender104 may instruct the communication module 134 to send a communication102 to his mobile telephone when he checks into his hotel on his trip toNew York the next month. The sender 102 may specify that thecommunication 102 is to remind him to visit the Frick Museum and shouldcontain images of important paintings at the museum.

Referring to FIG. 2, in an example process for sending a communicationfrom a sender to a recipient, the recipient is registered with thecommunication system (200). For instance, the recipient may provideinformation such as his name, contact information, or information abouthis computing device. The recipient may also provide information aboutthe types of communications he is interested in receiving. For instance,the recipient may indicate that he only wants to receive communicationsfrom his friends in a particular social network or that he does not wantto receive communications from commercial entities.

The sender specifies the recipient, provides recipient criteria to beused by the communication system to identify the recipient, or both(202). If the sender provides recipient criteria, the communicationsystem automatically determines the recipient (204). For instance, therecipient criteria may describe a relationship between the sender andthe recipient (e.g., “my oldest granddaughter” or “hourly employees ofBankOne Corp.”). The recipient criteria may describe one or morecharacteristics of the recipient (e.g., “professional women who live inBoston,” “people who are likely to attend the theater,” or “dogowners”).

The sender specifies the triggering location, provides location criteriato be used by the communication system to identify the triggeringlocation, or both (206). If the sender provides location criteria, thecommunication system automatically determines the location (208). Thetriggering location may be an address (e.g., 1911 Main Street,Philadelphia, Pa.) or a place (e.g., John F. Kennedy InternationalAirport). The triggering criteria may describe one or morecharacteristics of the triggering location (e.g., “my mother's tennisclub” or “coffee shops near the recipient's office”). In some examples,the sender specifies a threshold distance around the triggering locationwithin which the recipient can be considered to be “at” the triggeringlocation. In some examples, the communication system determines thethreshold distance, e.g., based on the location or by applying a defaultthreshold value.

The sender may also specify the triggering time, provide time criteriato be used by the communication system to identify the triggering time,or both (210). If the sender provides time criteria, the communicationsystem automatically determines the triggering time (212). Thetriggering time may be, for example, a specific time (e.g., 10:00 am), aperiod of time (e.g., the morning), a specific day (e.g., Monday), or aspecific date (e.g., Jan. 1, 2013), or another time. The triggering timemay be a threshold time (e.g., any time after Apr. 12, 2020). The timecriteria may describe the triggering time in terms of an event (e.g.,“my niece's birthday”), in terms of a propensity for an activity (e.g.,“a period of time when the recipient is likely to buy ice cream”), or inanother way. In some examples, no triggering time is specified and notime criteria are provided. In these examples, the communication is sentto the recipient whenever the recipient is at or near the triggeringlocation.

A communication is generated (214) by the sender, the communicationsystem, or both. In some examples, the sender generates thecommunication and provide (e.g., upload) the communication to thecommunication system. In some examples, the communication is generatedat a future time determined by the communication system, specified bythe sender, or both. For instance, a communication that is to be sent onthe tenth birthday of an as-yet-unborn grandson is generated only oncethe grandson is born. In some examples, the communication is generatedimmediately when the sender provides instructions to the communicationsystem.

In some examples, the communication system automatically generates thecommunication, e.g., based on data collected fromelectronically-accessible data sources, based on information about therecipient, or both. For instance, the communication system may includeimages from social networking websites in a communication generated fora recipient's birthday. In some examples, the communication is generatedby a combination of the sender and the communication system. Forinstance, the communication system may collect potentially relevant datafrom online data sources, format the collected data into a draftcommunication, and provide the communication to the sender for editing.The communication system may also provide data to the sender, e.g., in alist form, so that the sender can prepare the communication based on thecollected data.

The communication system monitors the location of the recipient (216).For instance, the communication system monitors the GPS coordinates ofthe computing device associated with the recipient. If a triggering timewas specified by the sender or identified by the communication system,the communication system monitors the location of the recipient at thetriggering time. For instance, if the triggering time is a specificdate, the communication system may monitor the location of the recipienton that date only. If the triggering time is a threshold time (e.g., anytime after Apr. 12, 2020), the communication system begins monitoringthe location of the recipient at or after the threshold time.

When the communication system detects that the recipient is at or nearthe triggering location (218), the communication is sent to therecipient (220). In some examples, the communication is sentautomatically. In some examples, the communication is sent afterapproval by the sender.

Referring to FIG. 3, in some examples, a person enrolls with thecommunication system through a recipient interface 300 to register as arecipient available to receive communications through the communicationsystem. The person enters personal information 302, such as name, phonenumber, e-mail address, social networking information, or other personalinformation, or a combination of any two or more of these. In someexamples, a person may be registered automatically with thecommunication system. For instance, a person may be registered, e.g.,when he enrolls in a social network or other electronically-accessibleservice or when he joins a particular group in a social network. Aperson may also registered by another party. For instance, a humanresources officer of a corporation may register all employees of thecorporation.

Upon registration, the person identifies one or more computing deviceswhose location is to be monitored by the computing system when acommunication is to be sent to the person. In some examples, the personenters device information 304 about the computing device, such as aunique device identifier. In some examples, the device information 304is populated automatically, e.g., if the person registers using thecomputing device he intends to associate with the communication or ifthe person is registered automatically. The person may enter deviceinformation 404 about one or more computing devices and may specify adevice preference 306, e.g., by marking a particular computing device asa preferred device. The person may also enter communication preferences(menu 308), e.g., to indicate specific people, groups of people, orentities from which he does or does not wish to receive communications.For instance, the person may restrict his communication preferences suchthat, e.g., he receives communications only from his family members oronly from people to whom he is linked on a social network.

Referring to FIG. 4, an example sender interface 400 allows the senderto administer the sending of a communication to a recipient. The sendercan specify the recipient 402, e.g., by typing the name of therecipient, by selecting the recipient from a list of contacts (e.g.,social network users with whom the sender is linked, family members, orbusiness partners) or a list of suggested recipients (e.g., recipientssuggested by the communication system), by speaking the name, or inanother manner. The sender can also provide recipient criteria 404,e.g., by typing recipient criteria, by selecting recipient criteria froma list of potential criteria, or in another manner. The sender canspecify one or more triggering locations 406 for each recipient, e.g.,by typing an address or a particular location, by identifying a locationon a map, by selecting the triggering location from a list of potentialtriggering locations (e.g., recipients suggested by the communicationsystem), by speaking the location, or in another manner. The sender canalso provide location criteria 408, e.g., by typing triggering criteria,by selecting triggering criteria from a list of potential criteria (e.g.triggering criteria suggested by the communication system), by speakingthe location or in another manner. The sender can also specify one ormore triggering times 410 or triggering criteria 412 for each recipientand each triggering location, e.g., by typing a triggering time orevent, by selecting the triggering time from a list of potentialtriggering times or triggering criteria (e.g., triggering timessuggested by the communication system), by speaking the time or event orin another manner.

Using the sender interface, 400, the sender can prepare or edit thecommunication (button 414) using a built-in communication editor, uploada communication that was prepared elsewhere (button 416), and view andapprove a communication prepared by the communication system (button418). The sender can also monitor the status of a previously scheduledcommunication (e.g., to monitor the delivery of a communication) byselecting the communication from a menu 420.

Referring to FIG. 5, the analytics module 131 provides analyticcapabilities that assist the sender in selecting a recipient, atriggering location, a triggering time, contents of the communication,or other details related to the delivery of a communication, or acombination of any two or more of them. In some embodiments, theanalytics module 131 may act as a surrogate of a sender to generateresponses (e.g., messages, offers and/or delivery instructions) based onhistorical data specific to the recipient. Recipient data, such ascurrent or historical data retrieved from websites, social networks,publications, other electronically-accessible sources, recipientregistration information, or other sources, or a combination of any twoor more of them, are stored in a database 500. A models library 502stores search algorithms and forecasting models that can be used toanalyze the recipient data stored in the database 500.

A predictive analytics submodule 504 applies the search algorithms andforecasting models stored in the models library 502 to select potentialrecipients, triggering locations, triggering times, contents of thecommunication, or other details related to the delivery of acommunication. The predictive analytics submodule 504 may implement oneor more forecasting techniques, including simple algorithms, future datecalculation, including statistical techniques such as machine learning(e.g., as applied by IBM's Watson computer), game theory, and datamining. In some examples, the predictive analytics incorporate therobust, optimizing forecasting techniques of Pinto et al. (U.S. Pat. No.7,499,897, issued on Mar. 3, 2009; U.S. Pat. No. 7,562,058, issued onJul. 14, 2009; U.S. Pat. No. 7,725,300, issued on May 25, 2010; U.S.Pat. No. 7,730,003, issued on Jun. 1, 2010; U.S. Pat. No. 7,933,762,issued on Apr. 26, 2011; and U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/826,949, filed Apr. 16, 2004, the contents of all of which areincorporated herein by reference), that manage historical data usingmissing values, which must be inferred.

In some examples, the predictive analytics submodule 504 may beconfigured as described by Gruber et al. (U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/987,982, filed Jan. 10, 2011, and U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/492,809 filed Jun. 9, 2012, the contents of both of which areincorporated herein by reference). For instance, the predictiveanalytics submodule 504 may include an automated assistant receivinguser input. The predictive analytics submodule 504 may also include anactive ontology with representations of concepts and relations amongconcepts drawn from various databases of historical data. For instance,for the example in which the sender is an agent of a corporation, thecorporate personnel database may be referenced in the active ontology.The predictive analytics submodule 504 may also include a languageinterpreter to parse the sender's input in order to derive arepresentation of the sender's intent in terms of the active ontology.The predictive analytics submodule 504 may also include a servicesorchestration component to output responses and instructions toimplement the sender's intent.

A results module 506 communicates the results of the analysis conductedby the predictive analytics submodule 504 to the communication module134, the triggering database 132 (FIG. 1), or both. In one example,potential triggering locations and triggering times for a recipientspecified by the sender are identified by the predictive analyticssubmodule 504 and provided to the communications module 134. Thecommunications module 134 presents the potential triggering locations tothe sender, who may select one or more of the locations. In one example,if the sender instructed the communication system to automaticallyidentify recipients to whom coupons for a clothing store are to be sent,then the recipients identified by the predictive analytics submodule 504are stored in the triggering database 132 without review by the sender.

For example, the predictive analytics submodule 504 may select contentfor a communication to be sent to a recipient specified by the sender ata triggering location specified by the sender. For instance, agrandfather may instruct the communications system to prepare anautobiographical communication to be sent to his grandson when thegrandson is in the vicinity of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Thepredictive analytics submodule 504 conducts an analysis of data relevantto the grandfather to select content that may be included in theautobiographical communication. The data may be sourced from thegrandfather's social networking profile (e.g. photographs or statusupdates), from publications or news articles about the grandfather, fromwebsites visited by the grandfather, or from any other source havingdata accessible to the predictive analytics submodule 504. Thepredictive analytics submodule 504 may also generate data relevant tothe grandfather based, e.g., on historical data available about thegrandfather. In some examples, the triggering location may also be usedto identify content that may be included in the communication. Forinstance, content that is related to art, culture, or museums may begiven special consideration in the selection of content for thegrandfather's autobiographical communication. The selected content isprovided to the communications module 134, which may assemble thegrandfather's communication or may provide the content to the sender forassembly.

In another example, the predictive analytics submodule 504 may identifypotential triggering locations, triggering times, or both for aparticular recipient. Triggering locations and times may be identifiedbased on the recipient's age, personal characteristics, home address,work address, commute pattern, travel habits, consumption habits, orother characteristics. For instance, a bar mitzvah date may beidentified for a child based on the child's birth date. Appropriatereligious holidays may be identified for a recipient based on therecipient's religious affiliation (e.g., as specified by the recipientor as inferred by the predictive analytics submodule 504) or based onthe prevailing religion in the region where the recipient lives. Thepredictive analytics submodule 504 may also identify appropriate timesfor delivery of a communication separately from identifying thetriggering time. For instance, based on a recipient's age, profession,computer usage patterns, or other factors, the predictive analyticssubmodule 504 may estimate when the recipient is expected to wake up inthe morning such that a communication is not delivered before therecipient wakes up.

In another example, the predictive analytics submodule 504 may identifypotential recipients based on an analysis of electronically-accessiblesources of information, data stored in the recipient database, or both.For instance, potential recipients may be identified that meet one ormore specified characteristics (e.g., high-income professional women orcommuters who ride the 66 bus in the morning). Potential recipients maybe identified by their relationship with the sender (e.g., all employeesof Acme Corp. who live in the Chicago area or all social networkconnections of the sender). In some examples, the predictive analyticssubmodule 504 may have access to marketing databases to analyzecharacteristics of potential recipients. In some examples, thepredictive analytics submodule 504 may have access to a list of past orpotential customers of a business and may identify and rank potentialrecipients based on that list in terms of propensity to purchase basedon historical data.

Referring to FIG. 6, the preparation of communications and the deliveryof communications to recipients are coordinated by the communicationmodule 134. A communications editor 600 may assemble a draftcommunication including some or all of the content selected by theanalytics module 131. The draft communication is provided to the senderfor review, editing, and approval through the sender interface 400. Thecommunications editor 600 may also assemble the content selected by theanalytics module 131 into a format (e.g., a summary presentation, aspreadsheet, or a series of documents) to be presented to the senderthrough the sender interface 400. The sender may then prepare thecommunication. A recipient affinity database 602 stores recipientaffinity information, such as preferences and interests of therecipients. In some examples, the recipient affinity information may beused to guide the communications editor in the assembly of thecommunication.

In instances where the sender is incapacitated, the communicationseditor 600, with the aid of the analytics module 131, can serve as asurrogate in composing communications automatically. For example, thesender may be seriously ill or even dead at the time of delivery (e.g.,the sender may be an incapacitated or dead grandparent of therecipient). If the sender user is incapacitated or dead, thecommunications editor 600 may carry out previous instructions of thesender and request confirmation as appropriate from a designated proxyof the sender, such as a parent of the recipient or an executor of thesender's estate. In some cases, the communications editor 600 mayrequests confirmation of the identity, or role, or both, of thedesignated proxy. For instance, if the executor of the sender's estatelogs into the proximity messaging social network using the deceasedsender's credentials, the executor may be considered to have beenauthenticated as the sender's proxy.

In some examples, the communications editor 600 may review or edit acommunication that was generated in the past to confirm that thecommunication is still valid, appropriate, or relevant, or a combinationof any two or more of them. For instance, if a grandmother hadpreviously prepared a communication with the message “Have a coffee onme at the Happy Coffee Shop” and including a coupon to the Happy CoffeeShop, the communications editor 600 may review the communication todetermine whether the grandmother is still alive, whether the grandsondrinks coffee, and whether the Happy Coffee Shop is still in business.For example, if the communications editor 600 determines that thegrandson's religion denies him caffeine but that his favorite beverageis blueberry tea, and further determines that the Happy Coffee Shop hasbeen purchased by a larger corporation, the communications editor mayinform the grandmother of these changes, may automatically edit thecommunication to reflect these changes, or both.

A delivery submodule 604 coordinates the delivery of a communication toa recipient. The delivery submodule 604 receives notification from thelocation module 136 (described below) when the recipient is at or near atriggering location. The delivery submodule 604 then accesses thetriggering database to retrieve the triggering time, if any, associatedwith the recipient and the triggering location. If the triggering timeis satisfied, the delivery submodule 604 causes the communication to besent to the recipient's computing device. In some examples, the deliverysubmodule 604 may alert the sender that the communication has been sentor may ask the sender for authorization to send the communication. If aphysical item is to be sent to the recipient, the delivery submodule 604sends a message to the recipient to schedule delivery of the physicalitem using a vendor 144, for example by a common carrier such as FEDEX,UPS, DHL, or the USPS, or to provide instructions for the recipient toretrieve the physical item.

The communication may be sent to the recipient by voice, email, by textmessage, or by an alert in an application specific to the communicationsystem. In some examples, the communication itself is sent, e.g., in thebody of an email. In some examples, a link to the communication is sentand the recipient clicks on or otherwise follows the link to access thecommunication.

Referring to FIG. 7, for each recipient, the location module 136determines when the recipient arrives at or near one of the associatedtriggering locations. A monitoring submodule 700 accesses the triggeringdatabase 132 (FIG. 1) to determine which recipients are to be monitoredand to retrieve the triggering location associated with each recipient.In some examples, the triggering time for each recipient is used by themonitoring submodule 700 to determine whether the recipient's locationis to be monitored. For instance, if the triggering time for aparticular recipient is far in the future, the monitoring submodule 700may not monitor the location of that recipient.

A coordinates submodule 702 in the location module 136 determines GPScoordinates for each triggering location by accessing maps and datasources. For instance, if the triggering location is “Royal Theater,Boston, Mass.,” the location submodule 136 determines the GPScoordinates for that location by determining the address of the theater(e.g., by accessing a website for the theater) and then identifying theGPS coordinates for that address. In some examples, the coordinatessubmodule 702 may perform analytics to determine GPS coordinates. Forinstance, if the triggering location is “the ice cream shop by therecipient's house,” the coordinates submodule 702 determines the addressof the recipient's house, (e.g., by accessing the recipient database 124(FIG. 1)), identifies the ice cream shop nearest that address (e.g., byaccessing maps or websites), and then identifies the GPS coordinates forthe address of the ice cream shop.

A GPS submodule 706 in the location module 136 monitors the location ofthe computing device associated with each recipient who is scheduled toreceive a communication, e.g., by monitoring the GPS coordinates of thecomputing device. When the GPS submodule 706 determines that the GPScoordinates of a recipient's computing device are sufficiently close tothe GPS coordinates of a triggering location for that recipient, the GPSsubmodule alerts the communication module 134 (FIG. 1). In someexamples, a database 704 of proximity rules and algorithms is used todetermine when the recipient is to be considered sufficiently close tothe GPS coordinates of the triggering location.

Referring to FIG. 8, an example storage module 140 includes acommunication database 142 hosted on a storage server 800 connected tothe network 110. Communications, such as a communication generated by asender, a communication generated automatically by the system, or both,can be stored in the communication database 142. When the communicationsystem determines a particular recipient is at a triggering location,the communication associated with that recipient is retrieved from thecommunication database 142 and transferred over the network 110 to thecommunication system, from where the communication is sent to therecipient. The communication database 142 may also store multimediacontent about or potentially of interest to the sender, the recipient,or both. This multimedia content may be used by the system to generate acommunication or may be provided to the sender to assist in thegeneration of a communication. Examples of multimedia content include,e.g., digitized speech, digitized music, digital text documents, digitalphotographs or videos, scanned documents or photographs, screenshots ofwebsites, and other content. The storage module 140 may also include afacility 802, such as a warehouse, for the storage of physical items 138such as, e.g., photographs, mementoes, heirlooms, souvenirs, and otherphysical items. The storage server 800 stores information related to thephysical items 138 stored in the facility 802, such as inventory,status, location in the warehouse, scheduled delivery dates, and otherinformation.

The communication system described here can be used to send alocation-based communication from a sender to a recipient in a widevariety of situations. Some examples uses of the communication systemare described below.

Referring to FIG. 9, in a first example, a grandmother wants to send herunborn first grandchild a message when the grandchild first visits thefamily homestead. The grandmother provides information to allow thecommunication system to later determine the identity of the unborn firstgrandchild (900). The grandmother also specifies the address of thefamily homestead (the triggering location) and indicates that themessage is to be composed of photographs of and news clippings about thegrandmother and grandfather (902). The communication system identifiesthe grandfather and retrieves potentially relevant photographs and newsclippings. e.g., from social networking sites and newspaper and magazinewebsites (904). The photographs and news clippings are formatted into adraft message which is sent to the grandmother for editing and approval(906). Later, the communication system determines the identity of thegrandmother's unborn first grandchild (908), e.g., from a birthannouncement in a local newspaper, from a social networking post by thegrandchild's parents, or from the grandchild's own enrollment in thecommunication system or an affiliated social networking site. Thecommunication system monitors the location of the grandchild's computingdevice, one or more of the grandchild's parents' computing devices, oranother proxy for the grandchild's location (910). When thecommunication system detects that the grandchild is at the familyhomestead (912), the message is sent to the computing device that is atthat location (914).

Referring to FIG. 10, in a second example, the Awake! Coffee Shop wantsto send a coupon for use at the coffee shop to every registeredrecipient who passes within two miles of the coffee shop during themorning rush hour and who is a qualified prospect for purchases. Theregistered recipients may be people who were already registered with thecommunication system, e.g., by virtue of their enrollment in a socialnetwork site. The registered recipients may also be people whoregistered with the communication system in response to a promotion bythe Awake! Coffee Shop, by the communication system itself or by anotherentity. For instance, the Awake! Coffee Shop may have notified itscustomers that those customers who register with the communicationsystem would be eligible to receive coupons. In one example, socialnetwork users who “like” the Awake! Coffee Shop are automaticallyregistered with the communication system. The communication system useshistorical data regarding past purchases of potential recipientsobtained from profiles of those potential recipients collected by thecommunication module 134 to enable the predictive analytics submodule504 to determine the joint propensity of each potential recipient topurchase a particular type of beverage at a particular time of day(1002). When that joint propensity for a particular recipient reaches apredetermined threshold level (1003) and that recipient is in proximityto the Awake! Coffee Shop (1004), a personalized marketing message isautomatically generated (1006) and delivered to a mobile device of therecipient (1008). For example, during the triggering time (i.e., duringthe morning rush hour), the communication system monitors the locationof each registered recipient and sends a coupon to each recipient whosejoint propensity reaches the threshold level and who passes within twomiles of the coffee shop. In this example, there may be a vast number ofpotential recipients whose location the communication system may monitor(e.g. every registered recipient in the communication system or everyregistered recipient who has purchased coffee in the last year). Thecommunication system may selectively monitor some potential recipientsless frequently than others, or even not at all, to improve systemperformance. For instance, the communication system may monitor onlyregistered recipients whose regular commute takes them past the Awake!Coffee Shop and whose joint propensity reaches the threshold level.

Referring to FIG. 11, in a third example, the Boston Tourism Boardprepares a welcome message to be sent to each traveler who is registeredwith the communication system upon the traveler's arrival at Boston'sLogan International Airport. A traveler may register with thecommunication system, e.g., by “liking” a Boston-related entity on asocial networking site, by purchasing a plane ticket to Boston, byreserving a hotel room in Boston, or by another action. Based on eachregistered traveler's profile and other historical data including, e.g.,past purchases and attendance at events or restaurants, the predictiveanalytics submodule 504 calculates the propensity of each registeredtraveler to attend or patronize various restaurants, events, and otheractivities (1100). When a registered traveler arrives in Boston (1102),the communication system retrieves information such as maps, restaurantlistings, and event schedules from publicly available websites and othersources of information (1104) and automatically generates a customizedmessage including information determined to be most relevant to thetraveler based on the calculated propensity of that traveler (1106). Thecustomized message is delivered to the traveler (1108).

In a fourth example, a human resources department of a corporationregisters each employee of the corporation with the communicationsystem. In some cases, the communication system may act as a surrogatefor a corporate sender and use the corporate personnel database toidentify recipients and, based on the profiles of the recipients,determine appropriate parameters and/or communications. Thecommunication system may be used for location-based communication withthe employees. In one example, a worksite in Atlanta, Ga., is in need ofadditional employees for a short-term project. The communication systemmay be used to send a message to all qualified employees who are withina certain distance (e.g., 100 miles) of the worksite alerting them tothe project opportunity. In one example, an employee traveling to Indiarequests that additional parts be sent to him for use in completing arepair. The communication system determines the location of the employee(e.g., the address of his hotel, the address of his worksite, or anotherlocation) and arranges for the additional parts to be sent directly tothe employee. In one example, the corporation may offer a discountedhealth club membership to its employees. The communication system may beused to send a reminder message to any employee who passes within onemile of the health club.

Referring to FIG. 12, in a fifth example, a mobile navigation device,such as a GPS device or mobile computing device installed in a car, maybe linked to the communication system via the internet, a mobilecommunications network, or both. A sender can instruct the communicationsystem to send a message to a recipient based on the location of therecipient's mobile navigation device. The message can be sent to therecipient's computing device (e.g., a smartphone), to the recipient'smobile navigation device, or both. For instance, a grandmother mayinstruct the communication system to send a message to her as-yet-unborngrandson if his car ever passes by the Coffee Café in New York City, asdetermined by the grandson's mobile navigation device (1200). Thepredictive analytics submodule 504, using electronically-accessiblesources, determines when the grandson acquires a car or other vehiclewith a registered mobile navigation device (1202), the grandson'spreferred caffeinated beverage if any (1204), and whether the CoffeeCafé still exists or has merged with another company (1206). If thegrandmother's message is still relevant, the communication systemdelivers it to the car's mobile device when it passes a Coffee Café inNew York City (1208). In case the grandmother is dead or incapacitatedthe communication system as her surrogate (described above) composes arelevant message and delivers it to the vehicle's mobile device. Themessage may include images, voice recordings, videos, icons to beclicked on, or other media, or a combination of any two or more of them.For instance, the message may include an icon that, when clicked, leadsto a Quick Response (QR) code for a coupon to the Coffee Café. Thegrandson can scan the QR code with his smartphone and then bring thesmartphone into the Coffee Café to redeem the coupon.

As desired, the system may include more or fewer than the componentsillustrated.

The system is described above with reference to block and flow diagramsof systems, methods, apparatuses, and/or computer program productsaccording to examples. In some instances, the publisher and reader usersmay access the system by desktop or laptop computers. In someembodiments, the publisher and reader users may access the system bymobile devices such as smart phones. In some embodiments, the publisherand reader users may access the system by tablet computers or anycommercial computing device connected to the internet. In some cases,the system may be constructed to operate on the internet independent ofexisting systems. The significant event system may operate usingexisting social networks, e.g., Facebook®), Google+®, or Yammer™ asplatforms using existing application interfaces open to websitedevelopers.

One or more blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flow diagrams,respectively, can be implemented by computer-executable programinstructions. Some blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams maynot necessarily need to be performed in the order presented, or may notnecessarily need to be performed at all, in some cases.

These computer-executable program instructions may be loaded onto ageneral-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a processor, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a particularmachine, such that the instructions that execute on the computer,processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus create meansfor implementing one or more functions specified in the flow diagramblock or blocks. These computer program instructions may also be storedin a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meansthat implement one or more functions specified in the flow diagram blockor blocks. As an example, embodiments may provide for a computer programproduct, comprising a computer-usable medium having a computer-readableprogram code or program instructions embodied therein, saidcomputer-readable program code adapted to be executed to implement oneor more functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks. Thecomputer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational elements or steps to be performed on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process suchthat the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide elements or steps for implementing the functionsspecified in the flow diagram block or blocks.

Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams supportcombinations of means for performing the specified functions,combinations of elements or steps for performing the specified functionsand program instruction means for performing the specified functions. Itwill also be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowdiagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowdiagrams, can be implemented by special-purpose, hardware-based computersystems that perform the specified functions, elements or steps, orcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

While the system has been described in connection with certain examples,is the system is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on thecontrary, includes various modifications and equivalent arrangements.Embodiments of the subject matter and the functional operationsdescribed in this specification can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, in tangibly-embodied computer software or firmware, incomputer hardware, including the structures disclosed in thisspecification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations ofone or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be implemented as one or more computer programs, i.e.,one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on atangible non-transitory program carrier for execution by, or to controlthe operation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively or inaddition, the program instructions can be encoded on an artificiallygenerated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical,optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated to encodeinformation for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus forexecution by a data processing apparatus. The computer storage mediumcan be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storagesubstrate, a random or serial access memory device, or a combination ofone or more of them.

The term “data processing apparatus” encompasses all kinds of apparatus,devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example aprogrammable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers.The apparatus can include special purpose logic circuitry, e.g. an FPGA(field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specificintegrated circuit). The apparatus can also include, in addition tohardware, code that creates an execution environment for the computerprogram in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, aprotocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or acombination of one or more of them.

A computer program (which may also be referred to or described as aprogram, software, a software application, a module, a software module,a script, or code) can be written in any form of programming language,including compiled or interpreted languages, or declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astandalone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unitsuitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program may, butneed not, correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be storedin a portion of a file that holds other programs or data, e.g., one ormore scripts stored in a markup language document, in a single filededicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files,e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub programs, or portions ofcode. A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computeror on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributedacross multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable computers executing one or morecomputer programs to perform functions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application specific integrated circuit).

Computers suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, can be based on general or special purposemicroprocessors or both, or any other kind of central processing unit.Generally, a central processing unit will receive instructions and datafrom a read only memory or a random access memory or both. The essentialelements of a computer are a central processing unit for performing orexecuting instructions and one or more memory devices for storinginstructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or beoperatively coupled to receive data from or communication data to, orboth, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic,magneto optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computer need nothave such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded in anotherdevice, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), amobile audio or video player, a game console, a Global PositioningSystem (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device, e.g., a universalserial bus (USB) flash drive, to name just a few.

Computer readable media suitable for storing computer programinstructions and data include all forms of non volatile memory, mediaand memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memorydevices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks,e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks: magneto optical disks; andCD ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can besupplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented on a computerhaving a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquidcrystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and akeyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by whichthe user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices canbe used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example,feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g.,visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input fromthe user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, ortactile input. In addition, a computer can interact with a user bysending documents to and receiving documents from a device that is usedby the user; for example, by sending web pages to a web browser on auser's client device in response to requests received from the webbrowser.

Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can beimplemented in a computing system that includes a back end component,e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component. e.g.,an application server, or that includes a front end component, e.g., aclient computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browserthrough which a user can interact with an implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, or any combination of one ormore such back end, middleware, or front end components. The componentsof the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digitaldata communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a widearea network (“WAN”), e.g., the Internet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinvention or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures that may be specific to particular embodiments of particularinventions. Certain features that are described in this specification inthe context of separate embodiments can also be implemented incombination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features thatare described in the context of a single embodiment can also beimplemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitablesubcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above asacting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, oneor more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excisedfrom the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system modulesand components in the embodiments described above should not beunderstood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and itshould be understood that the described program components and systemscan generally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described. Otherembodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example,the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different orderand still achieve desirable results. As one example, the processesdepicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallelprocessing may be advantageous.

Other implementations are also within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:receiving, from or on behalf of a sender, (a) location criteriaindicative of two or more possible locations, and (b) informationindicative of content for a communication to be sent from or on behalfof the sender to a recipient who is related to the sender by blood oremployment; inferring one of the possible locations as an expectedfuture location of the recipient based on a relationship between thelocation criteria and content of publicly availableelectronically-accessible resources by or about the sender, therecipient, or both; inferring content for the communication based on arelationship between the received information indicative of the contentand content of publicly available electronically-accessible resources;scheduling delivery of the communication to the recipient based on theinferred expected future location of the recipient; detecting an actuallocation of the recipient, wherein detecting an actual location of therecipient includes detecting GPS coordinates of a computing deviceassociated with the recipient; and sending the communication to therecipient when the actual location of the recipient matches the inferredlocation.
 2. The method of claim 1, comprising sending the communicationto the recipient when the recipient is at or near the expected futurelocation.
 3. The method of claim 1, comprising sending the communicationto a mobile computing device associated with the recipient.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein scheduling delivery includes schedulingdelivery of the communication to the recipient at a specified futuretime.
 5. The method of claim 4, comprising sending the communication tothe recipient when the recipient is at or near the inferred futurelocation at the specified future time.
 6. The method of claim 4,comprising: receiving time criteria for determining the specified futuretime; and determining the future time based on the time criteria.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the location criteria include at least one ofa characteristic of the expected future location, a characteristic ofthe sender, and a characteristic of the recipient.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, comprising generating the communication, wherein generating thecommunication comprises: generating, for review by the sender, a draftcommunication including at least some of the inferred content; providingthe draft communication to the sender; and receiving the communicationfrom the sender.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein generating thecommunication includes generating the communication including at leastsome of the inferred content.
 10. The method of claim 1, whereininferring one of the possible locations as an expected future locationcomprises conducting an automated analysis of theelectronically-accessible resources to infer the expected futurelocation.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication includesa multimedia message.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein theelectronically-accessible resources include at least one of (a)electronically-accessible or mobile social networking facilities, (b)electronically-accessible or mobile periodicals, and (c) websites. 13.The method of claim 1, wherein the electronically-accessible resourcesinclude a database storing data relevant to the sender, the recipient,or both.
 14. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, fromor on behalf of a sender, (a) recipient criteria from which an identityof a recipient can be inferred, (b) time criteria from which a futuretime at which a communication is to be sent from the sender to therecipient can be inferred, (c) location criteria indicative of two ormore possible locations and (d) information indicative of content forthe communication; inferring (1) the identity of the recipient based ona relationship between the recipient criteria and content of publiclyavailable electronically-accessible resources by or about the sender,the recipient, or both, (2) the future time based on a relationshipbetween the time criteria and content of publicly availableelectronically-accessible resources, and (3) one of the possiblelocations as an expected future location of the recipient based on arelationship between the location criteria and content of publiclyavailable electronically-accessible resources; inferring content for thecommunication based on a relationship between the received informationindicative of the content and content of publicly availableelectronically-accessible resources; scheduling delivery of thecommunication to the recipient at the inferred future time based on theinferred expected future location of the recipient; detecting an actuallocation of the recipient, wherein detecting an actual location of therecipient includes detecting GPS coordinates of a computing deviceassociated with the recipient; and sending the communication to therecipient when the actual location of the recipient matches the inferredlocation.
 15. The method of claim 14, comprising sending thecommunication to the recipient when the recipient is at or near theinferred expected future location at the inferred future time.
 16. Themethod of claim 14, comprising sending the communication to a mobilecomputing device associated with the recipient.
 17. The method of claim14, wherein the location criteria include at least one of acharacteristic of the expected future location, a characteristic of thesender, and a characteristic of the recipient.
 18. The method of claim14, wherein the recipient criteria include a relationship between thesender and the recipient.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein therecipient criteria include a future relationship between the sender andthe recipient.
 20. The method of claim 14, wherein the recipientcriteria include a characteristic of the recipient.
 21. The method ofclaim 14, comprising generating the communication, wherein generatingthe communication comprises: generating a draft communication includingat least some of the inferred content; providing the draft communicationto the sender; and receiving the communication from the sender.
 22. Themethod of claim 14, wherein generating the communication includesgenerating the communication including at least some of the inferredcontent.
 23. The method of claim 14, wherein inferring one of thepossible locations as an expected future location comprises conductingan automated analysis of the electronically-accessible resources toinfer the expected future location.
 24. The method of claim 14, whereinthe communication includes a multimedia message.
 25. The method of claim14, wherein the electronically-accessible resources include at least oneof (a) electronically-accessible or mobile social networking facilities,(b) electronically-accessible or mobile periodicals, and (c) websites.26. The method of claim 14, wherein the electronically-accessibleresources include a database storing data relevant to the sender, therecipient, or both.
 27. A computer-implemented method comprising:receiving, from or on behalf of an employer, (a) location criteriaindicative of two or more possible locations and (b) informationindicative of content for a communication to be sent from or on behalfof the employer to an employee; inferring one of the possible locationsas an expected future location of the employee based on a relationshipbetween the location criteria and content of publicly availableelectronically-accessible resources by or about the employee; inferringcontent for the communication based on a relationship between thereceived information indicative of the content and content of publiclyavailable electronically-accessible resources; scheduling delivery ofthe communication to the employee based on the inferred expected futurelocation of the employee; detecting an actual location of the employee,wherein detecting an actual location of the employee includes detectingGPS coordinates of a computing device associated with the employee; andsending the communication to the employee when the actual location ofthe recipient matches the inferred location.
 28. The method of claim 27,comprising sending the communication to the employee when the employeeis at or near the inferred expected future location.
 29. The method ofclaim 27, comprising sending the communication to a mobile computingdevice associated with the employee.
 30. The method of claim 27,scheduling delivery includes scheduling delivery of the communication tothe employee at a specified future time.
 31. The method of claim 27,comprising sending the communication to the employee when the employeeis at or near the inferred expected future location at the specifiedfuture time.
 32. The method of claim 27, comprising: receiving timecriteria for determining the specified future time; and determining thefuture time based on the time criteria.
 33. The method of claim 27,wherein the location criteria include at least one of a characteristicof the expected future location, a characteristic of the employer, and acharacteristic of the employee.
 34. The method of claim 27, comprisinggenerating the communication, wherein generating the communicationcomprises: generating a draft communication including at least some ofthe inferred content; providing the draft communication to the employeror an agent for the employer; and receiving the communication from theemployer or the agent for the employer.
 35. The method of claim 27,generating the communication includes generating the communicationincluding at least some of the inferred content.
 36. The method of claim27, wherein inferring one of the possible locations as an expectedfuture location comprises conducting an automated analysis of theelectronically-accessible resources to infer the expected futurelocation.
 37. The method of claim 27, wherein theelectronically-accessible resources include at least one of (a)electronically-accessible or mobile social networking facilities, (b)electronically-accessible or mobile periodicals, and (c) websites. 38.The method of claim 27, wherein the electronically-accessible resourcesinclude a database storing data relevant to the employer, the employee,or both.
 39. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, fromor on behalf of a sender, location criteria from which a then unknownidentity of a future location of a recipient who is related to thesender by blood or employment can be inferred; inferring the identity ofthe future location based on a relationship between the locationcriteria and a result of an automated analysis of publicly availableelectronically-accessible resources by or about the sender, therecipient, or both; scheduling delivery of the communication to therecipient based on the inferred future location of the recipient;detecting an actual location of the recipient, wherein detecting anactual location of the recipient includes detecting GPS coordinates of acomputing device associated with the recipient; and sending thecommunication to the recipient when the actual location of the recipientmatches the inferred location.